Broc Cellars - 'Love Red' - Red Blend - North Coast, CA - 2021

Tasting notes: Ripe wild berries on the nose, rhubarb, cut herb and bramble on the palate.
The Love Red grapes are harvested early to highlight the fruit and preserve acidity. It’s fermented only by native yeasts. The Carignan was fermented mostly carbonic. We destemmed then fermented the Syrah, Valdiguié, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel in stainless open top fermenters. The Grenache Noir was fermented carbonic. The wine was aged in a combination of mostly neutral French oak barrels and concrete tanks. Carignan delivers the blue fruit, while Syrah and Mourvèdre add depth. Valdiguié and Zinfandel add brightness, and Grenache Noir brings it all together, adding a certain ‘prettiness’ to the wine.
*VARIETAL: *51% Carignan | 25% Syrah | 12% Valdiguié | 5% Mourvèdre 3% Zinfandel | 2% Petite Sirah | 2% Grenache Noir
**VINEYARDS: **Wirth Ranch, Lake Mendocino, and Rosewood
*LOCATION: *North Coast
*ALCOHOL: *12.5%

TOTAL PRODUCTION: 6600 cases

The Broc Cellars story begins with a move from Nebraska to California. Chris Brockway grew up in Omaha and felt drawn to wine. Specifically spicy, brambly Zinfandels from California, and took a leap to move out West. He received an oenology degree from Fresno State and began making his first wine in 2002 – it was just one barrel. The following year he made three barrels, and by 2004 had 14 barrels of wine to call his own. Broc Cellars was born and had its first official release in 2006. At the time, the mentality surrounding California wines was “bigger is better”. Chris personally felt the wines to be too big, too much alcohol, too much everything. He set out to do something else. In 2008 he moved to his first winery space in Berkeley, which was originally known as Grape Leaf Cellars, located only one block away from where we are now. This is where Broc found its way.

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